Article releasing mechanism for vending machine



3,341,071 ,AHTICLE RELEASING MECHANISM FOR VENDING MACHINE Filed Oct. 7,1964 B. L. POSTON Sept. 12, 1967 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 mw w w 5555555 MBJUS WINVENTQR BYRON L. PO-S'TO/V BY amdjwdi/ I ATTORNEYS Sept. 12,1967

B. L. POSTON ARTICLE RELEASING MECHANISM FOR VENDING MACHINE Filed Oct.'7, 19 64 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. BYRON L. OSTON JMJ, Md I ATTOR/VErs B. L. POSTON Sept. 12, 1967 ARTICLE RELEASING MECHANISM FOR VENDINGMACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 7, 1964 It m/ A III 7 4 ?K J 6 4 MW2 6 86 4 N-.. w w 55 6 \y 7 a. v. w 5

N f 0 my 4 M m Y 8 q B ATTORNEYS 8. L. POSTON Sept. 12, 1967 ARTICLERELEASING MECHANISM FOR VENDING MACHINE Filed Oct. 7,1964

7 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN VENTOR.

A TTOR/VEYS BYRON L. P05 TON Fla 8 0 p 2. 196 B. L. POSTON 3,341,071

ARTICLE RELEASING MECHANISM FOR VENDING MACHINE Filed ,Oct. 7, 1964 7Sheets-Sheet 6 I28 r I2 I20 I24 FIG: /0

INVENTOR. BYRON L. P05 TON JCLQM 1054 A TTOR/VEYS B. L. PQSTON Sept. 12,1967 ARTICLE RELEASING MECHANISM FOR VENDING MACHINE Filed Oct. ,7, 19647 Sheets-Sheet 7 m M w INVENTOR BYRON L. POSTON J an! United StatesPatent 3,341,071 ARTICLE RELEASING MECHANISM FOR VENDING MACHINE ByronL. Poston, Florissant, Mo., assignor to Ideal Dispeuser Co., Columbus,Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Oct. 7, 1964, Ser. No. 402,142 12Claims. '(Cl. 221-125) This application relates to vending machines andmore particularly to a novel article release mechanism for suchapparatus.

In general, the machine of the present invention comprises a frame meansthat supports a plurality of article supporting shelves each of whichincludes a respective article releasing gate.

The selective operability of any one of the article releasing gates,responsive to inserting coin in the machine, is controlled by a novelcommon bar and gate releasing lever mechanism wherein the common bar isshiftable between three positions, that is a stand-by position, aready-to-vend position, and a lock-out position.

In the standby position, the common bar provides a positive sturdyobstruction to movement of all of the article releasing gates. Uponinsertion of coin in the machine the common bar is electrically shiftedby a solenoid to the ready-to-vend position wherein the common bar andlever mechanism is arranged to operate, in a novel manner, incombination with a plurality of lock-out members disposed along one sideof the common bar in end to end relationship so as to be axiallyshiftable far enough to permit clearance for only one of the previouslymentioned gate releasing levers to move into a respective recessprovided in the common bar. With the above mentioned novel arrangementof the common bar, gate releasing levers, and lock-out members thelock-out members function as a primary lock-out mechanism to preventactuation of all but the one selected gate after the common bar is movedto the ready-to-vend position.

The selected gate is next manually actuated to release the article whichcauses the gates respective associated gate releasing lever to drive thecommon bar from the ready-to-vend position to the lock-out positionwherein the common bar itself serves as a positive secondary lockoutwith respect to all of the gates but the one being actuated.

In addition to the above described common bar and lever mechanism themachine is provided with a unique actuating plate mechanism for thecommon bar which serves to shift the common bar from the standbyposition to the ready-to-vendposition responsive to insertion of coin inthe machine. Thereafter manual opening of the selected article releasinggate serves to drive the common bar through its lock-out position tocomplete the vending cycle.

The above mentioned common bar actuating plate mechanism further servesas a common bar arresting means, that comes into action at anappropriate time in the vending cycle, to prevent more than one cyclicalactuation of the common bar whereby double vending is prevented.

As a primary advantage of the above described common bar and gatereleasing lever mechanism the common 'bar is normally disposed in astandby position, rather than a ready-to-vend position, wherein a sturdyside of the common bar is disposed in positive obstructing relationshipto the gate releasing levers whereby excessive manual force applied tothe gates by anyone attempting to rob the machine is resisted by thesturdy common bar per So rather than by a relative sensitive latch orlever mechanism. That is to say, it is necessary to move the common barfrom the initial standby position to the intermediate ready-to-vendposition before manual effort exerted in opening a selected gate canimpart force to the common bar latching mechanism, and this is onlyafter a coin has been inserted in the machine to shift the common barfrom the standby position wherein it forms a sturdy obstruction to gatemovement to the ready-to-vend position.

As another aspect of the present invention the above described commonbar and lever assembly, together with the article releasing gates can bemounted together as an assembly on an accessible and removable panelwhich is separate from the article storage shelf compartment and otherportions of the machine. This provides a com pact article releasingmechanism which is conveniently mountable on the front panel of themachine.

As another aspect of the present invention, the above mentioned articlereleasing gates are mounted to the frame by slideably attaching only theside of each gate to a solid gate mounting rod. This provides a morerugged and jamb proof gate mount as compared to prior metal flange gatemounting structures heretofore used with slideable article releasinggates.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide animproved vending machine that incorporates a novel common bar typearticle releasing apparatus wherein the common bar is normally disposedin a standby position and therein provides a rugged positive obstructionthat prevents manual forcing of any of the article releasing gates, itbeing necessary to first insert coin into the machine to electricallyshift the common bar to an intermediate ready-to-vend position whereinany one of the gates can be manually opened in order to complete thevending cycle.

It is another object of the present invention to provide in a machine ofthe type described, an article releasing mechanism that can be mountedas an assembly on a panel which is readily accessible and removable asan assembly from the other components of the vending machine.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide for amachine of the type described a novel mounting arrangement for aplurality of slideable article releasing gates.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description, refer ence being had to the acornpanyingdrawings wherein a preferred form or embodiment of the invention isclearly shown.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a vending machine constructed inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the vending machine of FIG. 1showing the machine with the front cover removed;

FIG. 3 is a broken front elevational view, partially in section, showingan article releasing gate and common bar mechanism and its associatedrelationship with a common bar actuating plate mechanism constructed inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a top elevational view of the article releasing gate andcommon bar mechanism of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a front elevational View showing the common bar actuatingplate mechanism in a standby position at the outset of the vendingcycle;

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view showing the plate mechanism of FIG. 5after it has been shifted to a latched second position wherein thecommon bar has been moved tothe ready-to-vend position;

FIG. 7 is a third front elevational view of the actuating platemechanism of FIGS. 5 and 6 wherein the common bar is being moved fromthe ready-to-vend position to its lock-out position thereby unlatchingthe actuating plate to permit return of the plate to the standbyposition;

FIG. 8 is a third view of the actuating plate mechanism of FIGS. 5through 7 showing the plate after it has been returned to its initialstandby position;

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view showing one of the article releasinggears, the gate releasing lever, and the common bar in the standbyposition;

FIG. 10 is a second side elevational view showing the apparatus of FIG.9 in the ready-towend position;

FIG. 11 is a third side elevational view showing the releasing gate andassociated apparatus as it is moving from the ready-to-vend position tothe lock-out position of the common bar; and

FIG. 12 is a fourth side elevational view showing the apparatus of FIGS.9 through 11 after the article releas-- ing gate has been fuly openedand the common bar has been moved to its extreme position of movement.

Referring in detail to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a vendingmachine that includes a main frame 20 provided with a front access door22 for loading the machine and a coin mechanism indicated generally at24.

As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the frame of the machine supports an articlereleasing panel indicated generally at 40 that includes a plurality ofarticle releasing openings 26 each of which is provided with a slideablemounted article releasing gate 28.

- Referring next to FIGS. 3 and 4, the article releasing mechanismcomprises a common bar indicated generally at 44 that is slideablymounted to frame panel 40 by a vertically extending guide channel 46secured to the panel by a plurality of screws 48.

As seen in FIG. 3, common bar 44 is normally urged upwardly to itsstandby position by a tension spring 50 connected between the top of thecommon bar at a hole 52 and the top edge of frame panel 40 at a notch54. As is best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, each of the gates is slidablymounted to the frame panel by a gate mounting rod 56 attached to theframe panel by a plurality of brackets 58, said rod being retained inthe brackets by stop screws 60 located at each end of the rod.

Each of the gates 28 includes a roller 21 on its lower edges and isnormally urged downwardly toward its closed position, illustrated inFIG. 3, by a tension spring 62 connected between a flange 64 on the gateand a mounting hole 66 in frame panel 40.

Each of the gates further include a lever actuating cam 70 that engagesone arm 72 of a lever or gate releasing member indicated generally at74, the latter pivotally mounted to the previously mentioned common barguide 46 at a pivot pin 76.

As seen in FIG. 3, levers 74 are further provided with follower pins orgate releasing shoulders 80 arranged to enter respective open-endedslots 82 in common bar 44 and exert a camming action on the lower edgesor cam surfaces of the slots after the common bar has been shifted tothe ready-to-vend position as later to be described in detail herein.

It should further be mentioned that each of the levers 74 includes alower arm 86 that underlies lower edge 88 of a respective gate cammember whereby return closing movement of the gate returns a respectivelever 74 to its standby position illustrated in FIG. 3.

Referring again to FIG. 3, common bar guide 46 serves to mount aplurality of lock-out members 90 all but the lowermost one of which arelongitudinally slideable along a side of common bar 44. The lowermostlockout member 90-A has its lower end anchored to the lockout bar by ascrew 92.

It should further be mentioned that upward movement of the uppermostlock-out member 90-B is arrested by a pin 94 carried by the common barwhich serves as a stop for a shoulder 96 on the lower end of the topmostlock-out member.

In view of the above, it will be understood that all of the lock-outmembers, above the gate being actuated, are free to shift upwardly topermit the entrance of a cam pin of the lever at the particular gatebeing actuated. The amount of available upward movement for the lock-outmembers is only sufficient to permit the entrance of one of the levercam pins 80.

If the topmost gate is actuated, all of the lock-out members 90 areshifted downwardly with the common bar and restrained from separating attheir end to end junctions whereby all of the gates below the topmostgate cannot be opened since their respective gate releasing levers arerestrained from moving into the recesses 82 by the lock-out members 90.

Reference is next made to FIGS. 5 through 8 which illustrate thesequence of operation of the manually actuated article releasing gate 28and associated common bar and lockout mechanism.

In FIG. 5 lowermost gate 28 is shown by way of example in the standbyposition, ready for manual lifting, wherein the lowermost stationarylockout member 90A has its upper ends in abutting relationship with thelockout member 90 described above.

FIG. 6 shows the gate 28 after it has been partially raised to aposition wherein follower 80 confronts its respective open ended slot'82 to the location of follower pin 80.

FIG. 7 illustrates the configuration of the gate 28 and common bar 44after the gate has been further moved upwardly so as to cam the commonbar downwardly to the secondary lock-out and latch releasing position ofFIG. 11 later to be described.

FIG. 8 illustrates gate 28 in its fully lifted and open position whereinfollower pin 80 has cammed common bar 44 to its lowermost position ofFIG. 12.

It should be pointed out that when the mechanism is V manually movedfrom the position of FIG. 7 to the position of FIG. 8 follower pin 80can move all the lock-out members 90 upwardly due to the clearanceprovided for shifting of the lock-out members 90 and 90B relative to thelowermost lock-out member 90-A.

It should be further pointed out that once follower pin 80 passes theposition of FIG. 7 the available end to end clearance between thelock-out members is reduced to the extent that no other follower pin 80can enter its respective slot 82 sufficiently to permit lifting of anygate other than the one :being actuated.

Reference is next made to FIGS. 9 through 12 which illustrate operationof a common bar actuating plate mechanism that comprises a plate memberindicated generally at 100 and shiftable between a first positionillustrated in FIGS. 9 and 12 and a second position illustrated in FIGS.10 and 11 by solenoid 102 that is connected in circuit with andenergized by a coin acceptance mechanism indicated generally at 24 inFIG. 1.

As seen in FIG. 9, plate 100 includes an upturned flange 104 connectedto an armature 106 of solenoid 102 by a bolt 108. Plate 100 is mountedfor lateral shifting to a back plate 110, attached to the frame, byslots 112 and 114 through which are extended guide pins 116, the latterbeing mounted on back plate 110.

Actuating plate 100 is normally urged to the left or standby positionseen in FIG. 9 by a tension spring connected between a flange 124 onplate 100 and a flange 122 on frame panel 40.

Plate 100 is retained to the right or vending position of FIG. 10 by alatch lever 126 the right end of which is normally urged downwardly by aspring 130 towards a second latch portion or shoulder 128 formed by aslot in the upper edge of actuating plate 100.

Lever 126 is released from the latched position of FIG. 10 to thereleased position of FIG. 11 when a lever actuating pin carried on thelower end of common bar 44 engages a left arm 142 of the lever causingit to pivot about a fulcrum pin 144 thereby lifting the lever latchportion by arm 126 out of the slot that forms latch portion 128.

Actuating plate 100 includes a cutout 150 the upper edge of which formsa cam surface 152 that rides along and drives a follower pin 154 carriedon the lower end of common bar 44.

The actuating plate assembly further includes a switch 160 connected incircuit with solenoid 102 and provided with an actuating arm 162 engagedby flange 124 on plate 100. After the plate has been moved into thelatched position of FIG. lifting of switch arm 162 breaks the circuit tosolenoid 102, after latching the plate, so that additional coin must beinserted into the machine before the next vending cycle can be started.

In operation, when a coin is inserted in the machine solenoid 102 of thecommon bar, actuating plate mechanism is energized whereby actuatingplate 100 is shifted to the right from the position of FIG. 9 to theposition of FIG. 10*. This causes cam surface 152 to move follower 154on common bar 44 downwardly to the readyto-vend position of FIG. 10.

Any one of the plurality of article releasing gates 28 is next manuallylifted from the ready-to-vend position of FIG. 6 to the position of FIG.7 whereby common bar 44 starts to move downwardly by the camming actionof lever pin 80 on the lower edge or cam surface of open ended slot 82in the common bar.

When actuating plate 110 is shifted to the position of FIG. 6, platelatching lever 126 engages latch portion 128 on the plate and retainsthe plate in the position of FIG. 10.

Gate 28 is next further lifted from t e position of FIG. 7 to the fullyopened position of FIG. 8 whereby common bar 44 is manually urgedfurther downwardly through the delatching position of FIG. 11 finally tothe lowermost common bar position of FIG. 12 wherein plate 100 hasreturned to the standby position of FIG. 12.

It should be pointed out that after return of plate 100 to the left theupper inclined edge of a no-return plate 153 is positioned under thelower end of the common bar thereby positively eliminating thepossibility of a double vend. This configuration of the common barno-return plate 153 is illustrated in FIG. 9.

While the form of embodiment of the present inventionas herein disclosedconstitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other formsmight be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims whichfollow.

I claim:

.1. A vending machine comprising, in combination, frame means; aplurality of article releasing gates moveably mounted on said framemeans; a common bar slideably mounted on said frame means adjacent saidgates and including a plurality of open ended slots, one for each ofsaid gates, said common bar being moveable from a standby position firstto a ready to vend position and next to a lock-out position; a pluralityof gate releasing levers pivoted on said frame means, each of saidlevers being actuated by a respective one of said gates and including alever portion obstructed by said common bar in said standby position andmoveable into a respective one of said slots in said ready to vendposition, said slots in said common bar including edges forming camsurfaces engageable by said levers for shifting said common bar fromsaid ready to vend position to said lock-out position; and coin actuatedmeans for shifting said common bar from said standby position to saidready to vend position.

2. A vending machine comprising, in combination, frame means; aplurality of article releasing gates moveably mounted on said framemeans; a common bar slideably mounted on said frame means adjacent saidgates and including a plurality of open ended slots, one for each ofsaid gates, said common bar being moveable from a standby position firstto a ready to vend position and next to a lock-out position; a pluralityof gate releasing levers pivoted on said frame means, each of saidlevers being actuated by a respective one of said gates and including alever portion obstructed by said common bar in said standby position andmoveable into a respective one of said slots in said ready to vendposition, said slots in said common bar including edges forming camsurfaces engageable by said levers for shifting said common bar fromsaid ready to vend position to said lock-out position; a common baractuating plate moveably mounted on said frame means for movementbetween first and second plate positions and engaging said common barfor moving said bar from said standby position to said ready to vendposition, said plate including a first latch portion; latch meansmoveably mounted on said frame means and including a second latchportion engageable with said first latch portion for locking said platein said second plate position and said common bar in said ready to vendposition; and means operatively responsive to inserting a coin in saidmachine for moving said actuating plate to said second plate position.

3. The vending machine defined in claim 2 wherein said latch meansincludes a first shoulder engaged by a second shoulder on said commonbar for disengaging said latch portions upon moving said common bar fromsaid ready to vend position to said lock-out position.

4. The vending machine defined in claim 2 wherein said actuating plateincludes a common bar stop that moves into the path of movement of saidcommon bar when said actuating plate is returned from said second plateposition to said first plate position upon disengagement of said latchportions.

5. A vending machine comprising, in combination, frame means; aplurality of article releasing gates moveably mounted on said framemeans; a common bar slideably mounted on said frame means adjacent saidgates and including a plurality of open ended slots, one for each ofsaid gates, said common bar being moveable from a standby position firstto a ready to vend position and next to a lock-out position; a pluralityof gate releasing levers pivoted on said frame means, each of saidlevers being actuated by a respective one of said gates and including alever portion obstructed by said common bar in said standby position andmoveable into a respective one of said slots in said ready to vendposition; lock-out member guide means adjacent said common bar; aplurality of lock-out members disposed in end to end relationship insaid guide means and longitudinally slideably disposed along said commonbar, said lock-out members being separable at their various end to endjunctions that correspond with said open ended slots, the total spaceavailable between ends of said lock-out members being greater than thediameter of one of said lever portions but less than the diameter of twoof said lever portions whereby only one of said lever portions can bemoved into its respective open ended slot at a time, said slots in saidcommon bar including edges forming cam surfaces engageable by saidlevers for shifting said common bar from said ready to vend position tosaid lock-out position; and coin actuated means for shifting said commonbar from said standby position to said ready to vend position.

6. A vending machine comprising, in combination, frame means; aplurality of article releasing gates moveably mounted on said framemeans; a common bar slideably mounted on said frame means adjacent saidgates and including a plurality of open ended slots, one for each ofsaid gates, said common bar being moveable from a standby position firstto a ready to vend position and next to a lock-out position; a pluralityof gate releasing levers pivoted on said frame means, each of saidlevers being actuated by a respective one of said gates and including alever portion obstructed by said common bar in said standby position andmoveable into a respective one of said slots in said ready to vendposition; lock-out member guide means adjacent said common bar; aplurality of lock-out members disposed in end to end relationship insaid guide means and longitudinally slideably disposed along said commonbar, said lock-out members being separable at their various end to endjunctions that correspond with said open ended slots, the total spaceavailable between ends of said lock-out members being greater than thediameter of one of said lever portions but less than the diameter of twoof said lever portions whereby only one of said lever portions can bemoved into its respective open ended slot at a time, said slots in saidcommon bar including edges forming cam surfaces engageable by saidlevers for shifting said common bar from said ready to vend position tosaid lock-out position; a common bar actuating plate moveably mounted onsaid frame means for movement between first and second plate positionsand engaging said common bar for moving said bar from said standbyposition to said ready to vend position, said plate including a firstlatch portion; latch means moveably mounted on said frame means andincluding a second latch portion engageable with said first latch portion for locking said plate in said second plate position and saidcommon bar in said ready to vend position; and means operativelyresponsive to inserting a coin in said machine for moving said actuatingplate to said second plate position.

7. The vending machine defined in claim 6 wherein said latch meansincludes a first shoulder engaged by a second shoulder on said commonbar for disengaging said latch portions upon moving said common bar fromsaid ready to vend position to said lock-out position.

8. The vending machine defined in claim 6 wherein said actuating plateincludes a common bar stop that moves into the path of movement of saidcommon bar when said actuating plate is returned from said second plateposition to said first plate position upon disengagement of said latchportions.

9. A vending machine comprising, in combination, frame means; aplurality of article releasing gates movably mounted on said framemeans; a common bar slideably mounted on said frame means and including.a plurality of cam surfaces, one cam surface for each of said gates,said common bar being movable from a standby position to a ready to vendposition and to a lock-out position; a plurality of gate releasingmembers each of which is actuated by a respective one of said gates andincludes a gate releasing shoulder movable against a respective one ofsaid cam surfaces when said common bar is in said ready to vend positionfor moving said common bar to said lock-out position; means on saidcommon bar for locking out said shoulders in said standby and lock-outpositions; lock-out member guide means adjacent said common bar; aplurality of lock-out members disposed in end to end relationship insaid guide means and longitudinally slideably disposed along said commonbar, said lock-out members being separable at their various end to endjunctions that correspond with said cam surfaces, the total spaceavailable between ends of said lock-out members being greater than thediameter of one of said gate releasing shoulders but less than thediameter of two of said gate releasing shoulders whereby only one ofsaid gate releasing shoulders can be moved against its respective camsurface at a time; and coin actuated means for shifting said common barfrom said standby position to said ready to vend position.

10. A vending machine comprising, in combination, frame means; aplurality of article releasing gates movably mounted on said framemeans; a common bar slideably mounted on said frame means and includinga plurality of cam surfaces, one cam surface for each of said gates,said common bar being movable from a standby position to a ready to vendposition and to a lock-out position; a plurality of gate releasingmembers each of which is actuated by a respective one of said gates andincludes a gate releasing shoulder movable against a respective one ofsaid cam surfaces when said common bar is in said ready to vend positionfor moving said common bar to said lock-out position; means on saidcommon bar for locking out said shoulders in said standby and lock-outpositions; a common bar actuating plate movably mounted on said framemeans for movement between first and second plate positions and engagingsaid common bar for moving said bar from said standby position to saidready to vend position, said plate including a first latch portion;latch means movably mounted on said frame means and including a secondlatch portion engageable with said first latch portion for locking saidplate in said second plate position and said common bar in said ready tovend position; means operatively responsive to inserting a coin in saidmachine for moving said actuating plate to said second plate position;and means responsive to movement of said gates for releasing theengagement between said first and second latch portions to permit thereturn of said actuating plate from said second plate position to saidfirst pl-ate position.

11. The vending machine defined in claim 10 wherein said actuating plateincludes a common bar stop that moves into the path of movement of saidcommon bar when said actuating plate is returned from said second plateposition to said first plate position upon disengagement of said latchportions.

12. A vending machine comprising, in combination, frame means; aplurality of article releasing gates movably mounted on said framemeans; a common bar slideably mounted on said frame means and includinga plurality of cam surfaces, one cam surface for each of said gates,said common bar being movable from a standby position first to a readyto vend position and then to a lock-out position; a plurality of gatereleasing members each of which is actuated by a respective one of saidgates and includes a gate releasing shoulder movable against arespective one of said cam surfaces when said common bar is in saidready to vend position for moving said common bar to said lock-outposition; means on said common bar for looking out said shoulders insaid standby and lock-out positions; a common bar actuating platemovably mounted on said frame means for movement between first andsecond plate positions and engaging said common bar for moving said barfrom said standby position to said ready to vend position, said plateincluding a first latch portion; means for biasing said actuating platetoward said first plate position; latch means movably mounted on saidframe means and including a second latch portion engageable with saidfirst latch portion for locking said plate in said second plate positionand said common bar in said ready to vend position, said latch meansincluding a first shoulder engaged by a second shoulder on said commonbar for disengaging said latch portions to permit the return of saidactuating plate from said second plate position to said first plateposition; and means operatively responsive to inserting a coin in saidmachine for moving said actuating plate to said second plate position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,215,642 9/1940 Gabrielsen 222-2,727,654 12/1955 Childers et al. 221--125 X 3,115,274 12/1963 Burton eta1 221-125 3,169,621 2/1965 Johnson et al. 221125 X ROBERT B. REEVES,Primary Examiner.

KENNETH N, LEIMER, Examiner,

1. A VENDING MACHINE COMPRISING, IN COMBINATIN, FRAME MEANS; A PLURALITY OF ARTICLE RELEASING GATES MOVEABLY MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME MEANS; A COMMON BAR SLIDEABLY MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME MEANS ADJACENT SAID GATES AND INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF OPEN ENDED SLOTS, ONE FOR EACH OF SAID GATES, SAID COMMON BAR BEING MOVEABLE FROM A STANDBY POSITION FIRST TO A READY TO VEND POSITION AND NEXT TO A LOCK-OUT POSITION; A PLURALITY OF GATE RELEASING LEVERS PIVOTED ON SAID FRAME MEANS, EACH OF SAID LEVERS BEING ACTUATED BY A RESPECTIVE ONE OF SAID GATES AND INCLUDING A LEVER PORTION OBSTRUCTED BY SAID COMMON BAR IN SAID STANDBY POSITION AND MOVEABLE INTO A RESPECTIVE ONE OF SAID SLOTS IN SAID READY TO VEND POSITION, SAID SLOTS IN SAID COMMON BAR INCLUDING EDGES FORMING CAN SURFACES ENGAGEABLE BY SAID LEVERS FOR SHIFTING SAID COMMON BAR FROM SAID READY TO VEND POSITION TO SAID LOCK-OUT POSITION; AND COIN ACTUATED MEANS FOR SHIFTING SAID COMMON BAR FROM SAID STANDBY POSITION TO SAID READY TO VEND POSITION. 